WE WIN! 12hr race Aug 8th 2014

With just three drivers, ｔhis was always going to be a tough race physically. Throughout the day I tried to eat plenty of carbs, drink plenty of water, rest as much as possible and conserve my energy. Prior to my sessions I made sure to stretch well. Ive noticed when testing in my formula car that stretching before hand makes a big difference to after race aches and pains. Indeed out of the three of us I was the only one who didn't report leg cramps during the race. I got a good driver change done and settled into the race taking over from Tim who did a great job in qualifying us in 2nd place and keeping us in 2nd place in class during his session with consistent 1:10s. Car felt good and I was comfortable with the coolshirt doing its job. Just as i was getting into my rhythm Brian called me in as the transponder had fallen off and our laps where not being counted! Needless to say I was frustrated and voiced my annoyance at the lost time (about 1 lap lost) After they had tapped on a new one I wheel span out the pits determined to make up time only to get called right back in again! Apparently Id dumped two bolts on the floor when i span off....they turned out to be off the driveshaft. Brian did a fantastic job ignoring my now hysterical screaming of obscenities in his radio headset as he and the rest hustled to solve the problem and i sat there at the wheel fuming watching the cars id fought so hard to pass passing by again and again and again and again!. We had no spare nuts so Brian took one bolt of the RH shaft and put it on the LH, so we had one missing on both sides. I flew out the pits even more determined to make up lost time...we had lost 10mins and were now in 5th place! Over the next 2 hrs i fought back up to with a few laps of 2nd place before handing over to Sumi san. Sumi san then proceeded to drive the longest stint in TGR history, 3.5hrs, and brought us up to 1st place!! What a driver! He pitted twice for refuel and just kept on going and going and maintained our 1st place position. Tim took over for his 2nd stint half of which would be done in ever diminishing light and maintained our 1st place in class position. It was during his session I realised that i had to do 2hrs racing in the dark, and rain without my glasses and with poor night vision - hm. Usually we orgainse it so that the drivers doing night driving only do 45mins to 1 hr but because for this race we had started doing longer 2hr+ sessions that had all gone up in smoke. Sumi san had done one 3.5hr session so actually still had 30mins to do but it didnt make much sense to do a driver change for 30mins so i decided i would try to do both mine and his session combined, 2.5hrs...in the dark, rain and now fog! As soon as i passed the 1st corner i knew it was a mistake. i couldnt see shit. i had no night vision i couldnt even tell where i was, I didnt recognize the track, couldnt see any braking points i had cars coming from all sides blinding me with their headlights - terrifying! At one time blind in the dark rain and fog i turned into the last corner only to realise that i was on a completely different corner. i still dont know how i managed to stay on the track! i started whining to Brian over the radio growing more and more convinced that i simply couldnt do it, i also realised i needed to pee. i got a call back saying that the lithium powered sumi san was fully charged and ready to take over from me and felt guilty that he would have to step in and do another 2.5hrs after already doing 3.5nrs and that if i gave up i would not be pulling my weight, all tempered with the thought that if i crash, which at that moment seamed inevitable, I could ruin our chances of a win! As i was pondering all of this i started to regognise in the dark and fog braking points and apexs a bit, with each passing lap it got easier and easier and my laptimes started to drop, and drop. My confidence grew - i had my markers, I stopped whining. Brian was feeding me with info about our rivals over the radio and it was soon clear i was lapping faster - phew! so long as i could maintain our 1st place position i was happy. We had a 8 lap lead when i took over and i figured given the bad conditions i should focus on not crashing and let the lead slip but not so far as to jeapordise 1st place. But once i got into the groove my laptimes got shorter and shorter and soon i started lapping the 2nd place car and all others in our class. i grew our lead to 12 laps. At 1 hour to go the agony in my bladder became close to unbearable. With each passing lap i wriggled more and more in my seat in pain the time passing impossibly slowly. For the longest time i tucked in behind one of the N class cars who was doing same laptimes as me. It made driving easier as i could see more of the track from his lights - a good tactic, until he pitted. At 30mins to go my bladder was in so much pain and our 10 lap lead big enough that i seriously considered pitting to pee! (apparently guessing i might want to do this tim had already informed Brian not to let me if i radioed in my intent) but i kept going, and going and going. At 20 mins to go i calculated that there was no way we could lose 1st place unless i crashed. so long as i kept driving no matter how slowly or even if i pitted after 10 more laps there was no way to lose 1st place as our lead was so large, so i decided to play safe drop my laptimes right down and just focus on not crashing or wetting myself. With visibility and my swollen bladder as it was it was no small task. The time passed so slowly. lap after lap. finally i get the call `chequered flag is out!` i pulled into the pit lane with fireworks crackling overhead all the teams and spectators out cheering waving and congratulating each other. but not me. as soon as the car stops, chocks in place im out and running, weaving in and out the crowds like a mad man. Still wearing my helmet and hans head leaning against the toilet wall i finally and very painfully pee!!!

This was one of our best races so far - certainly the most challenging with just 3 drivers so to come 1st was a fantastic feeling. Having the help of Brian and Megumi san made a HUGE difference.

pic courtesy of Brian: Mike preparing for his first stint. Shortly after this photo was taken, his battle with transponders and driveshaft bolts all yearning to break the surly bonds of the vehicle began. His second stint was darkness complemented with a side of rain. What a day! Well done.

pic courtesy of Brian: on standby in the latter stages of racing. Sumi-san raced with so much energy that I was wondering if the lantern next to him had batteries in it or if it was simply glowing from his electric presence.